Molecule helps cells plug leaks following lung injury

The study appeared in the Sept. 1 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

In acute lung injury — usually resulting from infection, inflammation or surgical trauma — cells that line the blood vessels in the lung lose their ability to form a barrier, allowing fluid to seep into the lung's air spaces and resulting in respiratory failure. Such damage is a significant cause of death in critically ill patients.

Very little is known about how the lung repairs this lining layer, called the endothelium, said You-Yang Zhao, research assistant professor of pharmacology.

“We thought it likely that the ability of cells to repair and restore the endothelium might depend on their ability to proliferate and fill in gaps in the endothelial monolayer barrier that allow leaking,” said Zhao, who is lead author of the study.

Earlier studies had shown that FoxM1, a protein that controls the expression of genes, plays a critical role in cell proliferation. Working with the late Robert Costa, professor of biochemistry and molecular genetics at UIC, whose research focused on FoxM1, the researchers developed a mouse model that lacked the FoxM1 gene only in endothelial cells.

In the study, lung injury was induced in normal mice and in the gene-deleted mice. Blood vessels in the FoxM1-deficient mice continued to leak fluid, and the mice were significantly less likely to recover, resulting in a seven-times-greater mortality rate.

Although the immune response of each group was similar, there was less endothelial cell proliferation in the gene-deficient mice after the injury, suggesting that inability to fill the gaps in the barrier with new cell growth impaired the ability to recover.

Asrar Malik, professor and head of pharmacology at UIC, says the results suggest that lung injury activates a repair program, mediated by FoxM1, that encourages cell growth and restores the barrier integrity.

“This suggests future therapies for acute lung injury that target this molecule could promote endothelial regeneration and the patient's recovery,” said Malik, who is senior author of the paper.

Media Contact

Jeanne Galatzer-Levy EurekAlert!

More Information:

http://www.uic.edu

All latest news from the category: Health and Medicine

This subject area encompasses research and studies in the field of human medicine.

Among the wide-ranging list of topics covered here are anesthesiology, anatomy, surgery, human genetics, hygiene and environmental medicine, internal medicine, neurology, pharmacology, physiology, urology and dental medicine.

Back to home

Comments (0)

Write a comment

Newest articles

Lighting up the future

New multidisciplinary research from the University of St Andrews could lead to more efficient televisions, computer screens and lighting. Researchers at the Organic Semiconductor Centre in the School of Physics and…

Researchers crack sugarcane’s complex genetic code

Sweet success: Scientists created a highly accurate reference genome for one of the most important modern crops and found a rare example of how genes confer disease resistance in plants….

Evolution of the most powerful ocean current on Earth

The Antarctic Circumpolar Current plays an important part in global overturning circulation, the exchange of heat and CO2 between the ocean and atmosphere, and the stability of Antarctica’s ice sheets….

Partners & Sponsors